Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area.

Aswe were doing, this, I kept telling him Self Storage right now is oneof the top Real Estate investments out there and there is a lot ofCASH chasing Self Storage investments.

Are there specific factors you look for in an area to make sure it’s a good fit for this type of rental setup?

Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area.

There is no one size fits all answer for this question, market to market, and property to property are all different. 

The market is competitive, so I focused on being the best—from high-quality furnishings to top-tier management.

That will largely help to determine the right fit in the landlord market for someone with a portfolio. 

How are you going to get "top lenders" to compete for your business,, if you haven't even established a relationship with them?

Quote from @John Underwood: Gas heat would require constant tank refilling and it would be very bad to run out in the winter.In my experience, if you have  325 or 500 g tank, you can top off in the fall and be good until spring.....Unless I guess you have a big house and are keeping it at 80d.... 

A HELOC or home equity loan on your personal home could be a viable option to fund the rehab, but it's always a good idea to chat with a lender to explore all your options and find the best fit for your situation.